Call for Cease on ICE

At a recent oversight hearing, Luongo, the Attorney-in-Charge of the Criminal Practice for the Legal Aid Society, pleaded for the city and state to take action to halt the spike in courthouse arrests of immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents since President Donald Trump took office.

According to the Legal Aid Society, there have been 19 arrests by ICE at New York City courthouses under the Trump administration. Luongo said that ICE agents are posing as police officers, and have no legitimate reason to be in the courthouse.

“There is a difference between law enforcement activities and what we see here,” said Luongo. “When NYPD comes into the courtroom, it doesn’t necessarily instill fear.”

The June 29 City Council hearing, held jointly by the Committees on Immigration and Courts and Legal Services, was meant to examine the presence of ICE agents in courthouses and seek suggestions on how to potentially address the issue.

According to the Society, there have been 19 arrests by ICE at city courthouses.

Councilmembers pondered whether courthouse access for ICE agents could be limited since many consider courthouse hallways to be public places, a notion that legal advocates pushed back on.

In April, the Office of Court Administration (OCA) issued a memo to its officers containing guidelines for immigration agents in courtrooms. It specified that arrests were not permitted inside courtrooms, but were allowed elsewhere in the courthouse, and also said that judges should be notified of planned arrests involving individuals in their cases.

However, legal advocates testified that ICE is ignoring the guidelines in the memo.

“There’s a disconnect between what is on this memo and what is actually happening every day in courthouses,” stated Stan German of New York County Defender Services, who said ICE agents sometimes fail to identify themselves properly or notify court officials why they’re there.

German also complained that court staffers are “aiding and abetting” ICE agents by helping to identify individuals ICE is seeking by calling out their names in hallways, or adjusting the timing of court appearances to coincide with the arrival of immigration agents.

“We could make it as hard as possible for ICE to do their job,” said German.

Several public defenders and immigrant advocates urged the state’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore, and the OCA to implement policies that would keep ICE agents out of courthouses, or restrict court officers from cooperating with agents. They said the threat of ICE showing up at courthouses is causing immigrants to choose between keeping court dates and risking deportation.

“New York should be leading the way,” said José Pérez, Deputy General Counsel of LatinoJustice/PRLDEF. “If we’re truly a state interested in protecting the immigrant community, we should be setting the example.”

Carmen María Rey, Deputy Director of Sanctuary for Families, said ICE arrests were interfering with the justice system and harming immigrants by leaving people’s court cases in limbo.

“They were coming to court to clear their name, or plead not guilty to an offense,” said Rey. “It actually makes it harder to fight a deportation case, because they still have an outstanding matter.”

Attorney Karina Alomar told Councilmembers that the fear of ICE is adversely affecting domestic violence victims, explaining that one of her undocumented immigrant clients is too afraid to seek an order of protection against her husband, who beat her and kidnapped their daughter.

“Her husband told her that if she files for custody, he’ll tell ICE where she is,” said Alomar. “We cannot assure her of her safety in our courts.”

“The anti-violence movement has been all about bringing people out of the shadows. This is sending them fleeing into the shadows again,” remarked Terry Lawson of Legal Services NYC.

But in April, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John F. Kelly insisted, in correspondence issued to California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, that ICE agents have long conducted arrests at courthouses and that they would continue to do so.

A DHS spokesperson, David Lapan, underscored the agency’s position also in April in a separate news briefing.

“Just because they’re a victim in a certain case does not mean there’s not something in their background that could cause them to be a removable alien,” said Lapan. “Just because they’re a witness doesn’t mean they might not pose a security threat for other reasons.’’

But Pérez argued that courthouses should be treated as sensitive locations, similar to churches, schools and places of worship. He also noted that LatinoJustice PRLDEF sued ICE in 2008 for conducting rogue home raids, and said the same tactic could potentially be used to keep ICE out of courthouses.

John F. Kelly is the fifth Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“Sometimes it takes a lawsuit,” he remarked. “There are many smart lawyers working on these issues, and we’ll continue to put our heads together.”

Some advocates suggested that the city could keep vulnerable immigrants out of the court system to begin with by cutting down on arrests for minor offenses and reducing court backlog.

“There are some things we could do to make the court system leaner — fewer arrests, prosecutions,” said Luongo. “All of that has to be looked at through the lens of becoming a true sanctuary city.”

Afterwards, Menchaca said the hearing was intended to pull information together to examine next steps. He remarked that the Council can be “a strong bully pulpit in the city of New York” and would continue to advocate for stopping ICE courthouse arrests.

“We’ll pass resolutions if we have to, to send messages from the City Council,” remarked Menchaca, who said that ultimately, DiFiore and the OCA have the greatest power to act.

“She has the opportunity to make some bold changes,” he commented. “And OCA can have a positive effect for the lives of people. We’re trying to get into the hearts and minds of people who have the ability to change the system and make it evolve in times that we’re seeing today.”